News

Arrangements for the Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen

Published

3 years ago

September 19, 2022

THE TRAGIC death of Queen Elizabeth II set into motion an intricate period of mourning across the country, which will close with her State Funeral on Monday, September 19.

Arrangements for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch’s funeral have been carefully detailed for many years. The Queen herself signed off on every detail before her death. The details were kept private until King Charles III gave his final seal of approval.

The State Funeral of HRH Queen Elizabeth II will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday (Sep 19) at 11.00am.

Following the Queen’s death, her oak coffin—draped with the Royal Standard for Scotland and a wreath of flowers—sat in the ballroom at Balmoral, where estate staff had the chance to pay their last respects.

On Sunday morning, gamekeepers carried her coffin to a waiting hearse before she left Balmoral for the final time.

The first stage of the Queen’s journey saw the royal cortege travel to Edinburgh and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

An honour guard made up of the Royal Regiment of Scotland greeted the hearse in Edinburgh with a royal salute before the coffin was transferred to the Throne Room by a military bearer party.

On Monday, September 12, a procession was formed on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse to convey the coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.

The King and members of the Royal family took part in the procession and attended a service in St Giles’ Cathedral where they received the coffin.

Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was laid in St Giles’ Cathedral, guarded by Vigils from The Royal Company of Archers, to allow those in Scotland to pay their respects.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 13, The Queen’s coffin travelled from Scotland by Royal Air Force aircraft from Edinburgh Airport. It arrived at RAF Northolt on Tuesday evening. The coffin was accompanied on its journey by The Princess Royal.

The Queen’s coffin was then conveyed to Buckingham Palace by road, to rest in the Bow Room.

The coffin was received by her family in a small private ceremony before her official lying in state.

On Wednesday, September 14, the coffin was borne in procession on a gun carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster.

The Procession travelled via Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard.

After the coffin arrived at Westminster Hall, the Archbishop of Canterbury conducted a short service assisted by The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, and attended by The King and Members of the Royal Family, after which the Lying-in-State began.

During the Lying-in-State, members of the public will have the opportunity to visit Westminster Hall to pay their respects to The Queen.

Members of the public were able to file past the Queen’s coffin during its first full day of lying-in-state at Westminster Hall on Thursday.

Brass plaques in the 11th-century hall mark the spots where Edward VII lay in state in 1910, George V in 1936, George VI in 1952 and Queen Mary a year later. The hall, which is 900 years old, is also where wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill lay in state in 1965.

The Queen was laid-in-state in Westminster Hall until 6.30am Monday (Sep 19) morning. The coffin will then travel in a procession led by King Charles III and his family when it is moved at 10.44am from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.

He will walk with the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and Earl of Wessex and behind the quartet will be the Queen’s grandsons, Peter Phillips, Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales.

The Queen’s coffin will be carried during the procession on a 123-year-old gun carriage towed by 98 Royal Navy sailors in a tradition which dates back to the funeral of Queen Victoria.

The procession will be led by a massed Pipes & Drums of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force.

It will arrive at the west gate of Westminster Abbey at 10.52am when the bearer party will lift the coffin from the gun carriage and carry it into the Abbey for the state funeral service.

The service will begin at 11am and will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster.

Westminster Abbey has a capacity of approximately 2,200 people.

Heads of state and dignitaries from around the world are expected to be invited to the British capital to join members of the royal family to celebrate the Queen’s life and unwavering service to the nation and Commonwealth. The majority of leaders were asked to take commercial flights to London for the funeral.

Many members of royal families across Europe are expected to attend the funeral. The White House has confirmed the attendance of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

Leaders from across the Commonwealth, of which the Queen served as head for the entirety of her reign, are expected to attend. Many other world leaders are also expected to attend the funeral.

At approximately 11.55am the Last Post will sound, followed by two minutes of silence to be observed in the Abbey and throughout the UK.

Reveille, the national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper will bring the state funeral service to an end at around noon.

After the service, the Queen’s coffin will be returned to the gun carriage by the bearer party and a procession will travel to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park.

At Wellington Arch the royal family will watch as the Queen’s coffin is transferred to the new state hearse, before it begins its journey to Windsor Castle.

At 3.06pm, the state hearse will approach Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road, Windsor, and join the procession which will be in position.

At 3.10pm the procession will step off via Albert Road, Long Walk, Cambridge Gate, Cambridge Drive, George IV Gate, Quadrangle (South and West sides), Engine Court, Norman Arch, Chapel Hill, Parade Ground and Horseshoe Cloister Arch.

At approximately 3.40 pm the King and other members of the Royal Family who are walking in the procession join it at the Quadrangle on the North side as it passes into Engine Court.

At 3.53pm, the procession will halt at the bottom of the West Steps of St George’s Chapel in Horseshoe Cloister.

The Queen will be laid to rest following a committal service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, which will begin at 4pm.

She will be interred with the Duke of Edinburgh in King George VI’s Memorial Chapel in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in a private service at 7.30pm on Monday.

The burial service, conducted by the Dean of Windsor and attended by the King and royals, will remain entirely private.

Britain is projected to spend an estimated £78 million on Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

Local Government

Essential bridge maintenance and repairs planned for January

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Works on Westfield Pill Bridge to affect A477 traffic

ESSENTIAL maintenance and repair work is set to begin on Westfield Pill Bridge, with traffic management in place on the A477 between Neyland and Pembroke Dock.

The programme of works is due to start on Monday (Jan 19) following a Principal Inspection carried out in 2022, which identified a number of necessary repairs to maintain the long-term durability and safety of the structure.

Westfield Pill Bridge is a key route linking communities in south Pembrokeshire and carries a high volume of daily traffic. While major works were last undertaken in 1998 — which required a full closure of the bridge — the upcoming refurbishment has been designed to avoid shutting the crossing entirely.

Instead, the works, scheduled to take place in early 2026, will be managed through traffic control measures to keep the bridge open throughout the project.

The planned refurbishment will include the replacement of both eastbound and westbound bridge parapets, the renewal of expansion joints, and full resurfacing of the bridge deck.

The work is expected to take no longer than three months and will involve weekend and night-time working to help minimise disruption. All construction activity will be carried out from the bridge deck and has been scheduled to avoid clashes with other planned trunk road works, as well as periods of higher traffic demand.

Two-way traffic signals will be in place for the duration of the works. These will be manually controlled during peak periods, with particular efforts made to reduce delays affecting school transport.

Motorists are advised that there may be delays to local bus services during the works, including the 349 (Haverfordwest–Pembroke Dock–Tenby) and 356 (Milford Haven–Monkton) routes.

Drivers are encouraged to allow extra time for journeys and to follow on-site signage while the works are underway.

Crime

Breakthrough in 1993 Tooze murders: 86-year-old man arrested after cold case review

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

POLICE investigating one of Wales’ most disturbing unsolved double murders have arrested an 86-year-old man on suspicion of killing elderly couple Harry and Megan Tooze more than three decades ago.

South Wales Police confirmed the arrest on Tuesday (Dec 17), following a forensic cold case review into the 1993 killings, which shocked the rural community of Llanharry and cast a long shadow over the South Wales justice system.

Harry Tooze, aged 64, and his wife Megan, 67, were found shot dead with a shotgun at their isolated Ty Ar y Waun farmhouse on July 26, 1993. Their bodies were discovered inside a cowshed on the property, concealed beneath carpet and hay bales, having been shot in the head at close range.

The brutality of the killings and the remoteness of the scene prompted one of the most high-profile murder investigations in Wales at the time.

Conviction later quashed

In 1995, Cheryl Tooze’s then-boyfriend, Jonathan Jones, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. The prosecution case rested heavily on a partial fingerprint found on a teacup at the farmhouse.

However, the conviction unravelled just a year later. In 1996, the Court of Appeal quashed the verdict, ruling it unsafe and highlighting serious concerns about the reliability of the fingerprint evidence. The decision was widely regarded as a significant miscarriage of justice.

Jones, who consistently maintained his innocence, was supported throughout the ordeal by Cheryl Tooze, whom he later married. The couple have since spoken publicly about the devastating impact of the case on their lives.

Despite renewed appeals and periodic reviews, no one else was charged and the murders remained unresolved for nearly 30 years.

Operation Vega and forensic advances

In 2023, marking the 30th anniversary of the killings, South Wales Police launched a full cold case review under Operation Vega. The review was led by forensic scientist Professor Angela Gallop, one of the UK’s most respected figures in forensic investigation.

Detectives re-examined preserved exhibits from the original crime scene using modern forensic and DNA techniques that were not available in the early 1990s. Police have not disclosed which items were re-analysed or what evidence led to the latest arrest.

On December 17, officers arrested an 86-year-old man on suspicion of murdering Harry and Megan Tooze. He remains in police custody while enquiries continue. No further details about the suspect have been released at this stage.

Police appeal for information

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Mark Lewis described the arrest as a significant moment, but stressed that the investigation is ongoing.

He said: “While this arrest is clearly a significant development in the investigation, our enquiries are very much ongoing. This case has affected many people over the years and our aim is to find answers to the unanswered questions which remain about their deaths over 30 years on.

“Even with the passage of time, I would urge anyone who has information about the murders, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward and speak to police.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police, quoting occurrence number 2300016841.

Crime

Former police officer accused of making sexual remarks to women while on duty

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Court Reporter

Court hears allegations of inappropriate behaviour during official police visits

A FORMER police officer has appeared in court accused of making sexually inappropriate remarks to women he encountered while on duty.

Luke Silver, aged 34, is alleged to have abused his position as a police officer by making unwanted and explicit comments to two women during the course of official police business.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Silver attended one woman’s home following an incident involving her partner and took an initial statement. However, the woman told the court that Silver later returned to her address on several further occasions, during which the conversation allegedly became personal and sexual in nature.

She said the officer asked intrusive questions about her sex life and made comments about her appearance, which she found unsettling. In messages sent to a friend at the time, the woman described his behaviour as “inappropriate”, “strange” and “creepy”.

The court was told she later said she felt uncomfortable during the visits, claiming Silver behaved in an overly relaxed manner while speaking to her and made remarks that were entirely unrelated to the police matter he had attended for.

A second woman has also made allegations that Silver asked her sexually explicit questions and made comments about her body while acting in his capacity as a police officer.

Silver, formerly of Gwent Police and now living in Lamphey, Pembrokeshire, denies three counts of improper use of police powers or privileges. The alleged offences are said to have taken place in 2021.

The trial is continuing at Cardiff Crown Court.

(Image: WNS)